After School II

Ch 16: Crescendo

     Aravind slowed his pace so the Man could keep up with him. But he knew he had to get back to where Rahul was sleeping. Together, they made their way to the third floor, followed by the ghostly Ajay. 

     Suddenly, Ajay noticed Anoop and Chris running down the stairs towards them. Of course the Man and Aravind couldn't see them, but he could, and stopped them. "What's wrong? What happened up there?", he asked them.

     "Rahul's dead." Anoop blurted. Chris nodded. 

     "Wh-? How? Did that nurse come up there?" Ajay asked them in shock.

     "Yeah... We watched her kill him. It was horrible... She kept stabbing him even after he died... and gouged his eyes out too, like she did to Anish.." Chris said. 

    They heard a scream and turned quickly. While they were talking, they didn't notice that Aravind and the Man had reached the classroom and had seen Rahul's lifeless body. 

     Aravind cradled Rahul's head and just cried, not knowing what to do. He had lost 3 of his friends in such a short time. The Man stood behind him, his head lowered in pain. He was clutching his forehead, wincing, as each movement brought forth fresh blood from his numerous wounds. 

     What either of them failed to notice was the nurse. She was hiding under the teacher's table, delighted at the fact that both her remaining prey had voluntarily made their way to her. 

     Of course, Ajay, Chris, and Anoop had noticed her nice and clear, but there wasn't anything they could do. All they could do was watch what was going to happen. 

     Ms Eve slowly stood up, her eyes dancing crazily, as they regarded both her fresh meat. Her hands clutched a cleaver this time, it's metallic edge glinting in the dim light.

     She screeched, and ran towards them, as the Man and Aravind jerked back and saw her, registering too late that it was their turn to die. 

_____ _ _____

       Back in the future, the combat between cadavers was reaching a fever pitch. The Nurse kept pulling all sorts of instruments out of her pockets, slashing and tossing them at her adversary. The ghoulish Man deflected a syringe thrown at him, and whacked her on the head with the broken leg of a chair. 

     The woman jumped back, screeching in pain. She clutched her head with one hand, brandishing a box-cutter with her other one. She slashed at him, and it surprisingly connected, slicing a deep gash in his chest. 

     "We should get out of here, now.", Prabhu said urgently to Priya, who was staring at the deathmatch of the dead with an enraptured gaze. She tore her eyes away, and the three of them ran the other way, back to the stairway. 

     "Wait! We still haven't found our friends!" Shirley hissed. They stopped in their tracks. Prabhu glanced back at the fight. The Man was dodging her swift strikes, but noticeably slower than before. 

     "We have to help him. He's the only one who can help us." Prabhu exclaimed. 

     "What are you even talking about?! You felt his punch. It sent you flying fifteen freaking feet away!" Priya whispered angrily. Prabhu lowered his head, trying to think. 

    It was Shirley who came up with an idea. "Bait." She muttered. The other two stared at her.

     "If we can bait the female one to come after us, then the male one will be able to restrain her, It's risky, I know, but that's the best idea I can come up with. ", she explained. 

     Priya looked at Prabhu, who just shrugged. "Worth a shot.", he muttered. 

     They braced themselves, and without warning, ran towards the fight, screaming as they did so. The ghosts were startled, and turned to look at them, but the Man quickly recovered his wits, clenched the broken leg tighter, and stabbed it deep into the nurse-ghost's gut. A sickening cracking sound emerged, followed by a horrifying scream from Ms Eve. 

     Not wasting the opportunity, the Man quickly threw his arms round her head, and in a swift, gut-wrenching movement, snapped her neck. 

     Prabhu and his friends watched as the box-cutter slowly fell from her hand to the floor with a final <CLINK>...

_____ _ _____

    A/N: ...I guess I owe you dear readers a massive apology for taking such a long break, that too right when the story was moving at a nice pace. 7 months! seriously. I'm such an idiot. 

     Well, readers, I am truly sorry for being unable to update the story earlier. I'll make sure this kinda thing doesn't happen again... 

     That being said, I present to you the latest chapter of After School II, where frankly, there's a heck of a lot of stuff going on! I really hope you devour the new happenings with the same gusto as the previous ones, and as always, please don't hesitate to leave a vote or a comment!